Morocco residents begin returning to northwest as flood waters recede

RABAT, Feb 16 (Reuters) – Moroccan authorities began organising the gradual return of residents to the city of Ksar El Kebir and other flood-hit northwestern areas as weather conditions improved, state media showed on Monday.

Authorities backed by the army had helped evacuate 188,000 people since early February, to protect them from overflowing river waters that swept across 110,000 hectares in the northwest.

Most residents of Ksar El Kebir, 213 km north of Rabat, are now allowed to return home, except for those living in a few neighbourhoods, the interior ministry said on Monday.

INVESTMENT PLAN TO UPGRADE INFRASTRUCTURE 

Train and bus rides were offered free of charge to help transport residents who had sought shelter with relatives in other cities, or in centers and camps provided by authorities, state TV showed.

Morocco plans to spend 3 billion dirhams ($330 million) to upgrade infrastructure and support flood-affected residents, farmers and shop-owners in the inundated areas, the prime minister’s office said last week, declaring the hardest‑hit municipalities disaster areas.

The Oued Makhazine dam, which had reached 160% of capacity, was forced to gradually release water downstream after exceptional inflows, leading to rising water levels in the Loukous river which inundated Ksar El Kebir and surrounding plains.

Rainfall this winter was 35% above the average recorded since the 1990s and three times higher than last year, official data showed.

Morocco’s national dam-filling rate rose to nearly 70% from 27% a year earlier, with several large dams being partially emptied to absorb new inflows.

The exceptional rainfall ended a seven-year drought that had pushed the country to ramp up investments in desalination.

(Reporting by Ahmed El Jechtimi; Editing by David Holmes)